Rose Gone Rogue
by Harley McCoy
Summary: Rose is a child prodigy, no hiding that; able to solve any problem that comes her way. Until now . . . what will Rose do when she is forced to choose between good and evil, and family and friends?
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Rose is a child prodigy, no hiding that; able to solve any problem that comes her way. Until now . . . what will Rose do when she is forced to choose between good and evil, and family and friends? New alliances, secrets, relationships, and enemies are made and tested.

**A/N:** This takes place between "Two Fallen Foes" and "Nothing to Loose." I own nothing but the story idea. Everything else belongs to Power Ranger, etc.

Rose Gone Rogue

Chapter 1: The Deception of Peace

The Overdrive gang was relaxing in the living room when Spencer came in. "Might I suggest you do something with the free time you have. Mr. Hartford is hard at work trying to find the location of the key that opens that chest you discovered yesterday. And when he finds it and asks for you to retrieve it, there is no doubting you will find resistance. You should take advantage of this free time, since I highly doubt you will be granted again it anytime soon. " When Spencer didn't received a response, he huffed at their laziness and abruptly left.

Ronny gave a loud sigh. "What now?" She asked, looking around at the others.

"Well, I for one don't want to go for another picnic." Tyzonn announced, remembering that was the day the Fear Cats almost finished him off. _'If it hadn't been for Norg who knows what would have happened.' _he thought.

Mack kept quiet, recalling that was the day he boasted about all the great outdoor adventures him and his dad had. _'What a joke. It wasn't even real – I'm not real. I hate picnics. I hate him!' _Mack thought folding his arms in front of him. It was silent for a few moments.

Rose stood up then "I'm going for a walk. I think. . ." putting her index finger to her chin ". . .on the beach." Everyone starred dumbfounded at her. It wasn't like Rose, normally she would declare she was going to read a book and would leave the group to be in solitude, usually locking herself up in her room. Rose turned to leave, when Dax jumped up.

"Wait up Rose! I'll come. I need to get out. I'm totally bored" He added.

"Anyone else?" Rose inquired. Everyone else shook their heads.

"I think I'm gonna work on the zords." Ronny said getting up off the couch.

"I was going to go downtown and get a new ipod. Mine got destroyed during training." Will said glaring at Mack, who had crushed it when they were training together. Mack didn't notice though, as he just stared out the glass doors that lead to the balcony outside.

"I'm actually hungry. I think I'm gonna make myself some lunch." Tyzonn told all his friends.

"Why not have Spencer do it?" Will asked.

"No, that's okay. I like to cook. It's . . . relaxing. And I need to relax after all that's gone on." Tyzonn explained, everyone nodding in agreement.

"And I'm gonna watch TV." Mack said with an empty tone. _'Oh, Mack. I wish I could do something to help you. But ever since you – we found out you were an android. . . you've been distancing yourself from us . . . from me. I don't know why, but you have. I wish you could see that you being an android doesn't change anything. Maybe with time you'll see it.'_ Rose looked over at Mack, who was in his own world. The red ranger turned the TV on, but Rose highly doubted he was watching it.

"Alright. Let's go then." Rose finished.

"I'll walk out with ya." Will told the pink and blue ranger, getting up off the couch.

They were outside, when they parted ways. As Will grabbed his helmet and straddled his motorcycle, he peered over at Dax and Rose. He raised his eyebrows in curiosity as he watched Dax look over his shoulder to say something to Rose, who was settling herself in on his quad. Rose wrapped her arms around Dax tightly, and not a moment sooner Dax revved up his quad and took off, kicking up dirt as he and Rose sped away. Will watched the two round the bend until he couldn't see them anymore. _'Why didn't they take the jeep? There would have been more room. Hmm. Unless. . . no, not those two. Although, for friends they were awfully cozy with each other.' _Will sat on his bike a few more minutes pondering about what he just saw. _'I'll have to keep an eye on those two.' _He concluded with a smirk on his face before taking off himself and heading downtown

End Chapter 1

Hope you all liked it. Please leave a comment/review.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed my story. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: The Word of a Ranger

Rose and Dax arrived at the beach. Surprisingly, not many people were on the beach.

The two rangers exited the vehicle and took off their shoes, leaving them by the quad. Rose wore a pink spaghetti strap tank top and blue capri pants, while Dax wore blue jeans and a white and blue polo tee.

"Nice day." Dax told her, trying to get the conversation started.

"Mhmm." Rose agreed. Dax shoved his hands in his pockets, hesitant to continue.

"I can't believe it's almost over." He paused, thinking to himself. "I'm surprised. . ." the blue ranger began, "you know, that no one's . . . hooked up." He finished laughing nervously. Rose whipped around to look at him, double-checking to see if she heard him correctly. "I mean gotten together. Boyfriend – girlfriend!" Dax quickly added in response to Rose's astonished looked. "I mean, we're always together, **all** of the time, and we all get along, its odd none of us would end up with someone." Dax continued, trying to defend himself. Rose starred at her teammate with a mix of confusion and disgust.

"Well, no one **has** to end up with someone." She explained. "But in reference to our mission to find and preserve the jewels and the crown. . . yea I'm sad too."

Dax sat down, tired of walking on the beach aimlessly. "So you're really not surprised that no one "paired" up?" Dax persisted, staring at Rose while cocking his head to the side and smiling up at her.

"No, I guess." Rose hesitated. "I never really thought about it." She added. _'That's a total lie, but he doesn't have to know that.'_ "If anybody did get together, it'd be Ronny and Tyzonn." She laughed. Rose joined Dax, and sat down, pulling her knees to her chest.

"Ronny and Tyzonn. . . nah. Maybe you and Ty, or Will, or Mack. . . although he's an android so I don't think it would work." Dax trailed off. Rose's eyes became the size of half-dollars, and her mouth dropped open.

"You forgot yourself, Dax! And the answer is no, with anyone!" Rose shot back. "First off, Tyzonn is engaged. And second, what does Mack being an android have anything to do with it?" Rose asked. "Don't answer that."

"So you have thought about it? You and Mack." Dax said grinning like a maniac.

"No!" Rose desperately said, turning red. "But as far as Mack is concerned. . . I am worried about him."

"Him, as our leader?" Dax asked quizzically.

"No, I mean as a person." She clarified.

"But he's not human, he's an android." Dax said matter of fact.

"That's not the point! The point is. . . I just- I don't know." She said defeated. Dax could see Rose was really bothered by their team leader's less than comforting behavior. Even Dax was a little concerned, thinking that Mack might lose his will to continue to lead. "And we'll all be leave'in soon. I can't believe that we're just going to go our separate ways."

"Wait. Who says we'll be going our separate ways? We'll definitely keep in touch." Dax said confidently. "Just because it ends, will still hang out, right?" Dax said nervously.

"I hope so. My parents couldn't be happier if I told them it was over and I was coming home. They weren't too enthused that I left school and did this. All they do is tell me how dangerous it is, and how I'm wasting my time. I have an older sister, Lori, and she's basically the exact opposite of me. She scoffed at the whole idea of me doing this too. She thought I wouldn't – couldn't do it. I showed her." She finished with a victorious grin.

"Wow. I had no clue. I have siblings too; they didn't believe me until they saw us on the news that I was a power ranger. My father was really . . . proud . . . something he isn't often of me. So, your parents play favorites?" Dax inquired.

"No. They equally support us, of course – well, I guess they have always been on my case, always making sure I'm never held back from being my brainy self. I don't know, not to me they aren't, and Lori seems fine. Actually the day we went to recover Thor's Hammer, was the day Lori graduated from college. I missed it. I was supposed to go, too. I haven't really talked to her since I joined Operation Overdrive, I hope she wasn't mad."

"She not a child genius?" Dax probed.

"Not really. . .no." Rose said looking and feeling guilty.

Seeing Rose's reaction. "Hey it's not big deal, you said she's fine, so don't look so guilty for doing or being you. My parents' were supportive . . . sort of, well, they were supportive of every one of my siblings. I have four. Two brothers and two sisters. I'm the middle child. . . lucky me. My grandfather was really awesome, and he believed we each had a path destined to us. I think he was psychic because my brothers and sisters are all great at something, and my parents' would rave about them to everyone. I was the black sheep of the family, never meeting expectations, and my grandfather would always say to me, "wait Dax, and follow your heart, the path that you have been walking, stay strong for it is what will lead you to something great . . . something that I don't think you even will know of." He was really something. I miss him. He died a few years ago." Dax said remorsefully.

"I'm sorry, Dax." She said putting her hand on his shoulder for comfort. They sat in silence, starring at the ocean.

"Dax?" She said softly, in almost a whisper.

"What?" The blue ranger turned to her.

"I don't know about you, but I have this bad feeling that the last part of this race to find the fifth jewel and save the world, isn't going to be a picnic." She informed.

"Well, if it's anything like the last picnic, I totally agree." He jested, but he watched as the pink ranger continued to stare out at the water deep in thought.

"Hey." Dax said to get her attention.

"What?" She asked.

"I think I found something." The blue ranger said pointing to the water's edge.

"I don't see anything." She said. Dax heaved himself up and walked over to where the waves were breaking.

"Rose you got to see this!" He yelled to her.

"What is it?" She said walking up to where he was standing. "I don't see anything."

"Really?" He innocently inquired. "Because I see a very wet pink ranger." He finished, grabbing her and throwing her into the ocean. Dax busted out laughing as he watched Rose gain her footing again, completely soaked.

"Dax!" She hollered. She charged, pulling him down into the water. They continued to joke around, splashing each other until both were out of breath and completely drenched.

"Hey." He interrupted out-of-breath.

"Yeah?" Rose replied, breathing heavily.

"We should probably get back." Dax continued letting out a loud sigh.

"You're probably right. We've been gone a while. And who knows when we'll be needed to retrieve the next artifact." Rose said sadly. They trudged out of the ocean. The two looked at themselves and how soaked they were and started laughing again.

"Come on." Dax said waving his hand for Rose to come along. Rose jogged to catch up to Dax. Dax put his arm around Rose's shoulder and after he did, Rose proceeded to put her arm around his waist.

"Don't worry Rose, it will work out . . . the Mack thing." Dax said sincerely. The pink ranger just nodded silently. "And we'll definitely hang out, even if we aren't rangers." He followed up.

"I know. Thanks Dax. And that would be great to hang out after this is all over with. You're the best." Rose responded while walking with him to his quad.

"Tell that to my parents." Dax retorted.

"You really think something bad is going to happen?" He asked leery of her response.

Rose nodded her head. "But don't say anything. There's no proof and it's probably me. Plus, someone is always after the jewel besides us, so I'm probably just psyching myself out. . . I don't think it's anything different, just the usual world is in jeparody thing."

What Rose neglected to tell him was that the nights prior she had been having nightmares concerning her sister. But they never made any sense, nor could she remember them enough to know what was endangering her sister, or her, for that matter. All Rose knew was as she awoke in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, something bad was going to happen and Lori was involved.

"Deal. It will be a ranger secret. This whole day will be a secret. Leave them hang'in. . . it'll be mystery. This sounds like the beginning to an awesome movie." Dax laughed. Rose couldn't help but laugh as well.

Dax waited while Rose finished putting on her shoes and placing the helmet over her head. She wrapped her arms once again tightly around the blue ranger. The engine grumbled as the two made their way back to the mansion.

End Chapter 2

I know not a lot has happened action wise, but that is coming. All is necessary. Hope you all like this chapter. Please leave a review/comment.


	3. Chapter 3

January 27, 2008

Chapter 3: Diversions and Unanswered Questions

Ronny, Will, Mack, and Tyzonn were gathered in the living room, conversing on mind boggling issues. "And that's why the chicken came before the egg," Ronny concluded.

"No way!" Will objected.

"I'm confused," Tyzonn confessed.

"You, and me both," Mack added. The soon-to-be argument Ronny and Will were about to start was interrupted by Rose and Dax's return. The group that was gathered in the living room looked at the two soaked rangers walking in.

"I thought you were going for a walk. You said nothing about swimming," Will remarked.

"Yeah, umm. . ." Dax started, looking at the pink ranger for help.

"Well, it started out as a walk," she assisted.

"So, I guess you had fun," Mack said half asking, half stating.

"Yeah," Rose said with a little a hop in her step and huge smile. Before the other rangers could further inquire, Spencer walked in.

"Mr. Hartford requests your presence in the Command Center." Spencer looked over at Dax and Rose, who he happened to be standing next to. "Dear God, what happened? You're dripping wet!" Spencer gave a sigh, "Guess I'll go get the mop," he mumbled. They all laughed as the butler went to retrieve the cleaning tools.

"We better change," Rose said.

"We'll meet you guys down there," Dax told the rest of the rangers. Both rangers raced upstairs to change.

"So much for finding out what **really** happened," Will said disgusted.

"What do you mean 'what really happened'?" the yellow ranger asked, the Mecurian nodding in agreement.

"Come on. Let's go, Hartford is waiting," Will said, ignoring Ronny's question and heading down to the Command Center. The rangers watched Will leave without any further explanation before following him down to the Command Center. All the rangers crowded around the viewing screen. When the older Hartford turned his attention to his team, he noticed he was suddenly two short.

"Where are Rose and Dax?" Mr. Hartford asked.

"Right here," Dax answered, while he and Rose slid down the poles.

"Well, now that **everyone** is here," Andrew began, turning back to the monitors, "an old friend of mine stumbled upon an artifact in a rainforest located in Brazil. He and his team found a ring, and think it's worth us taking a look at." The older man pulled up the artifact on the screen; it was silver with a gold triangle emblem on top. "I have feeling that it is a powerful artifact." Mr. Hartford paused, "We need to retrieve it quickly and as discreetly as possible, before anyone else does."

"No doubt that Moltor or Flurious will be after it," Tyzonn chimed in.

"Our best bet would be a diversion," Rose hypothesized. "Maybe. . . just maybe, if Dax and I go to the campsite, and Mack, Will, Ronny, and Ty go somewhere else and create a diversion . . . you know, make them think it's there . . . we might be successful. That way if either Flurious or Moltor tries to steal it, they'll be misled by you guys, while Dax and I retrieve the ring," Rose finished.

"Sounds good, Rose," Mr. Hartford complimented. "All right team, you heard the plan. I'll give each team a map, one with the real location, and one a simple decoy; just in case either villain obtains the map they'll still be headed in the wrong direction. Let's get that ring, rangers!" Mr. Hartford said excitedly.

**Deep in the Rainforest**

"All right, according to the map – wait, this map is weird; I think Mr. Hartford gave us the wrong map," Dax said, puzzled.

Rose turned around and walked over to the confused blue ranger, taking the map from him. "You're holding it wrong, or rather upside down," Rose giggled.

"Oh," Dax replied, embarrassed.

**Beach Side**

"Does that map even lead anywhere?" Mack asked annoyed. The rangers had been walking aimlessly on the beach for over a quarter of an hour.

"Nope," Will answered.

"So we're just suppose to "look like" were looking for the ring?" Ty asked.

"Yup," Will answered curtly. The mercury ranger let out a deep sigh.

"So," Will began, "has anyone else noticed Dax and Rose?"

"What?" Mack asked, surprised.

"Well, they have been spending a lot of time together," Tyzonn stated.

"No, they haven't!" Mack protested.

"Well, what about the time Dax went and auditioned for the movie role. Rose is the one who encouraged him, talked him into it," Ronny recalled out loud. "And, they went to the beach together, and now they're going on missions –"

"We get it," Mack interrupted.

"Jealous, Mack?" Will teased.

"Wha – me?" Mack said taken back a little. "What about you? You're the one bringing it up," he said trying to avert the attention away from him.

"I'm a spy. I have to be aware of my surroundings and the people in them," Will calmly explained, enjoying Mack getting worked up.

"Well, you're apparently no good at it if you didn't see me and my army of lizards," interjected Moltor.

Will gritted his teeth. "And the trap has been set."

"Ready?" Mack said, holding out his morpher.

"Ready," the other rangers answered.

**At a Campsite, Deep in the Jungle**

"Here we are," Rose beamed.

"All right, where now?" Dax inquired, hovering over her shoulder trying to get a better look at the map. Rose took the map from Dax shortly after she had corrected him, thinking they would get there faster if she was in charge of navigating.

"According to the map, the campsite should be straight ahead," Rose instructed.

When they arrived at the designated area, the two rangers noticed something immediately. "What happen? It's totally abandoned," Dax blurted out.

"I don't know," Rose answered. "It looks completely ransacked. I hope the archeologists are okay."

"I thought you'd show up, eventually. So, I guess the rest of the rangers are playing with my dim-witted brother," Flurious chuckled.

Rose and Dax morphed and began to battle Flurious. It didn't take them long to notice the ring in his grasp. _'How are we going to get the ring? There has to be a way.' _Using her abundant knowledge of jungle plant life, she searched for a particular vine, known to grow in the jungle that when cut would give off a harmless but thick gas, similar to fog. "Dax, here!" the pink ranger beckoned, insinuating to lure Flurious to her proximity. Dax kicked Flurious with all his might. Too focused on Dax, the villain didn't see Rose cut the vine open with her drive defender right behind him. The vine leaked a purple-green gas, giving Rose the opportunity to snatch the ring out of Flurious' hands.

"I got it! Let's get out of here." The blue ranger followed the orders given and the two rangers escaped into the thick, dense jungle foliage.

When the smoke cleared, Flurious franticly scanned the destroyed campsite, searching for the two rangers. "Damn that pink ranger. She is always getting in my way. If I don't do something soon I'm going to lose to those pesky power brats," Flurious seethed a pensive look on his face. "I think I need to do some shopping," he laughed maniacally.

Rose and Dax stopped running to catch their breath. "I don't think he's coming after us," Dax thought aloud.

"I know. It's weird," Rose ascertained, leery. It wasn't normal for Flurious to admit defeat so easily.

"Come on, we better meet up with the rest of the guys. They may need some help with Moltor, if he hasn't found them already."

"Hhmm," Rose agreed, as the two continued their way to the beach.

~ End Chapter 3

11


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** I just want to thank everyone who has reviewed. Hope you enjoy this one just as much.

Chapter 4: Celebrations, Awkward Moments, and Evil Plans are all in a Day's Work

By the time Dax and Rose found the others Moltor was in the midst of retreating. "Don't think you've won this, rangers. It's far from over, you hear?"

"Wow, nice job guys." Dax told his friends, as him and Rose caught up to the group.

"Did you get the ring?" Will asked.

"Yup." Rose said, showing the item proudly to the others.

"Great job, Rose." Mack said wearily, _'Wow, Rose sure does look happy. Was working with Dax that great?'_ He asked himself.

Rose saw the sad look on Mack's face, which made her frown as well.

"Come on, we better get back, and let Mr. Hartford take a look at this." Ronny instructed.

As the group made their way back to the S.H.A.R.C. Rose looked back to see the glum expression on Mack's face. _'Mack, I wish I could something.'_

**Hartford Residence**

"Wow Rose . . . Dax, you both did great." Andrew exclaimed. "I'll take a look at this, and see why this ring is so important. Until then, why don't you all relax, or do whatever it is teens do today."

"Thanks Mr. Hartford." Ronny chirped.

When the rangers were upstairs, better known as the main floor of the house, Ronny turned to the team. "Hey lets all go to the park."

"You know what? That sounds like a good idea." Will said, with that infamous sly smile of his face.

'_This will give me a time to talk to Rose. Since learning about me being an android, we haven't really been talking the way we use to.' _Mack thought, smiling to himself.

"Actually, I think I'm gonna go up to my room and take a nap." Rose informed.

Mack couldn't hold in his disappointment. "Everything okay, Rose?" Mack asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine . . . just tired that's all. See you guys later." She said ascending the stairs.

"Okay, have a good nap." Ronny called to her. Mack watched Rose climb the steps and walk around the corner. Something wasn't right and he knew it, but he wasn't going to press her.

"You know what? A nap sounds nice. I think I'll take one too." Dax said.

"You?" Will said incredulously, raising his eyebrows.

"Yea. I'm kind of beat from fighting Flurious." Dax jogged up the steps as well, and was soon gone from sight.

"Well unless anyone else wants to sleep, I'm ready to go to the park and spend some quality time with my friends, which doesn't involve beat'in up the bad guys." Ronny retorted. The gang followed her out the door, as Mack glance up the stairwell one last time before shutting the door behind him.

_**It was cold, very, very, cold. Rose could see her breath rise in front of her face. She shivered. The pink ranger could hardly see in front of her. Only a little amount of light shone through the crack somewhere, where ever she was above her. "Hello?" She called out, her voice echoing. "Rose, help!" Rose recognized the voice. "Lori! I'm coming. Hold on." Rose ran toward where she thought the voice came. She ran right into a cavern full of light. When her eyes adjusted she stared wide-eyed at Flurious with Lori. Lori and Flurious together wasn't what surprised Rose, it was the fact Lori wasn't in danger, but was standing next to Flurious with a devilish grin plastered on her face. "Lori!" She pleaded. "What? Why? How?" She asked, her mind racing. Lori just smiled, as chillers came out of the shadows and surround them all – hundreds of them. "How much does your sister mean to you?" Flurious laughed. "Flurious!" Rose seethed. "To save your sister you're gonna have to sacrifice . . ." Rose looked on in horror and she felt something she never had before." **_Rose sat up to see Dax starring back at her. "Dax, what are you doing in my room?" She starred at him in bewilderment. Dax was wearing only a pair of long blue sweats, while Rose wore a baby soft pink tank top and dark blue sweats.

"Rose, I was sleeping, when I heard you screaming from down the hall. You were screaming bloody murder! I was really scared something happened. When I came into your room, you were tossing and turning like crazy!" Dax explained a look of worry and concern.

Rose didn't say anything. Dax watched Rose curl her knees up to her chin. Dax put a hand on Rose's knee. "Rose, was it another bad feeling?" He knew the answer, but he was hoping that she would talk about it.

Rose nodded, tears streaming down her face. "Dax, those bad feelings I told you about were actually nightmares I've been having. This last one was the worst of them all . . ."

"Wow." Was all Dax could say in response to what Rose told him. She had told Dax everything, about all the nightmares, everything and anything she could recall.

"But what really scares me is the feeling I felt. It was hate, and anger, and pain."

"Maybe the guys-"

"No! I don't want to worry them. If anyone is going to figure it out – it's gonna be me. I'm the genius!" She said. Dax was a little shocked at how angry Rose was getting.

"Okay, okay, I won't say anything. Promise."

"Thanks." She said smiling at him.

Just then the door to Rose's room swung open. "There she . . ." Ronny trailed off as she saw not only Rose but Dax in the pink ranger's room sitting on her bed. "Hi." Ronny said.

"Hey." Dax replied with a little wave of his hand. An awkward silence filled the room.

"What's go'in on?" Ronny asked.

"Nothing." Dax answered.

"I thought you two were taking a nap?" Will asked, "separately." He added, only loud enough for Ronny, Mack, and Tyzonn to hear. The black ranger examined the room and the two rangers sitting on the bed while waiting for an answer to his question. Rose looked at Dax with pleading eyes. Dax swallowed hard. _'If I can pull this off, I am a great actor.' _The blue ranger thought to himself.

"We were, but I couldn't sleep . . . so I came to see Rose who had just gotten up . . . and . . . we started talking . . . and that's when you guys showed up." Dax explained.

Spencer rushed into the room then, "Miss Rose, are you okay? I thought you were in trouble with all that screaming."

"Screaming?" Mack inquired.

"Yeah, yeah . . . I was . . . tickling her which made her scream." The want-to-be actor jumped in, laughing nervously.

"But your eyes are blood shot, and your face is puffy like you've been crying?" Tyzonn interjected.

Dax looked at Rose; she could tell he was a scrambling for an answer. "Well, Ty . . ." She said trying to gain her composure. "All that tickling . . . made me cry . . . that's why my face looks this way . . . and – and after that . . . Dax stopped tickling me . . . and we started to talk about movies again and we got on the subject of a very sad movie; hence why I look upset."

"What movie?" Tyzonn inquired.

Rose just gave him a hard glare. Sometimes Tyzonn could really get on her nerves with his ignorance of Earth customs, like knowing when to drop something. "Forest Gump, Tyzonn, we were talking about Forest Gump." She said annoyance laced in her answer.

Another uncomfortable silence took hold when Andrew Hartford's voice came through the intercom. "Rose, sorry to wake you, but I need you to the Command Center. Thank you." Rose was beyond relieved to hear that Mr. Hartford needed her help. Rose scooted off her bed and pushed past the group of people huddle in her door way, making sure not to make eye contact with any of them, especially Mack. _'I know what they must think, but I rather that than the truth. There's just too much going on. We're almost at the finish line . . . one more jewel. And I'll be damned if I'm going let my stupid nightmares stop us from focusing on the real problem, protecting the Corona Aurora._' Rose thought, angry at herself for letting these "dreams" distract her so much. They all watched her leave before turning their attention back to Dax, who simply smiled. Dax feeling about as comfortable as a ballet dancer playing rugby, he too, jumped off the bed and squeezed past them to get to his room.

Mack watched Dax like a hawk ready to go in for the kill. _'Something is up. I don't know what, and now, I'm not so sure I want to know.'_ Everyone went their own way after sharing a few awkward looks and giggles.

**Command Center**

"What is it Mr. Hartford?" Rose asked.

"I need you to collect a book for me. The book is extremely old and I had to do some real haggling just use it long enough to see what the ring's power is, and I'm going to need you to pick it up." Rose looked at him confused. "There is very limited amount of information on the ring, not nearly enough to do a thorough investigation. I feel that book contains all the information we will need on the ring . . . all the information I'm lacking."

"Why me? Why not the whole team?" Rose mentally kicked herself for just saying that. _'Why the hell did you just say that? The last thing you want is the whole team to come.'_

"Well, not to stereotype, but you seem like the only one who knows their way around a library and that's where the book is. I had the book shipped to the San Angeles Library when I first learned about the ring. If you feel you need the accompaniment of the others-"

"No!" Rose cut off Andrew. Mr. Hartford was a little taken back by the pink ranger's outburst. "I'll change and go." She said with a smile, racing back up to her room.

**Antarctica**

Flurious pondered to himself about the events of today. He paced in a small circle, a smile creeping up on his face. "Oh Norg." Flurious called in his kindest voice.

"Yes Flurious." Norg, the bumbling yeti said skipping toward his master.

"I need you to go out and pick me up something, **again**." Flurious continued.

"Really? What is it? More ice pops?" Norg asked.

"NO!" Flurious yelled before calming down and continuing. "No, what I want comes in pink." Flurious said grinning evilly.

"Really? Pink doesn't really seem your color, but okay." Norg concluded.

"Here's what I want you to do Norg. Now listen carefully." Flurious warned before giving instructions. Norg leaned in close to listen carefully to his master's orders.

End Chapter 4

**A/N:** Well, hope you all liked it. Thanks again to all you who have been reviewing. It is much appreciated. With that, please leave a review. Thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**: I just wanted to thank all of you who have been reviewing. Enjoy!

Chapter 5: The Sensitive Balance Between Truth and Lies

Dax walked into the living room where Ronny, Will, Tyzonn, and Mack were watching the news. "Hey has anyone seen Rose?" The blue ranger asked.

"Mr. Hartford asked her to pick something up in town. She left about ten minutes ago. Why?" Will asked.

"No reason." Despite Dax's best efforts to hide his concern, it was no use; thus Mack turned the TV off and all four rangers turned to the actor. "What?"

"You sound worried. Something you like to share?" Will further probed. Dax looked at them like a deer starring down the headlights of a pick up truck.

'_Of course I would, but I promised Rose I wouldn't. I should have never promised her not to say anything, and now that I know about all those crazy dreams she's been having I only regret my promise even more.'_ Dax sighed and shook his head. "I'm just gonna go outside." Gesturing to the French doors that lead out to the veranda.

"Something's up." Mack stated; the others nodded their heads in agreement.

"Think I'll catch up with Rose. A girl's day." Ronny winked at three men. The red ranger nodded his approval.

**Somewhere along the highway . . .**

Rose had only been driving for about fifteen minutes when she saw a yellow streak pass her side and rearview mirrors. Rose shrugged, "Must have been noth-" The petite ranger slammed on her breaks, stopping a foot in front of Ronny.

Rose looked flushed and was griping the steering wheel, gasping for breath. "Phew." Ronny said wiping her brow. "I thought you were never gonna stop." She added, putting her hands on her hips.

"Ronny?!" Rose finally got out.

"What? How else was I supposed to get a hold of you to hang out?" Ronny said while getting into the jeep. "So where we go'in?" The racecar driver asked, even though she already knew the answer. The pink ranger glared at her friend.

"The library." Rose said though her teeth, still furious at Ronny for doing something so irresponsible and stupid.

**Back at the mansion**

The red, black, and silver ranger watched their friend lean against the porch railing, starring out in space.

"Master Will, Mr. Hartford requires your presence along with your spy skills." Spencer relayed. Will starred at the butler before following him down to the Command Center.

"You better go too." Mack told Tyzonn, without looking away from Dax.

"But Spencer said only Will was needed."

"They might need help . . . another's opinion." Tyzonn was about to say something, but Mack cut him off. "I need to talk to Dax alone." Tyzonn could see there was no room to change Mack's mind and did as he was "suggested". As Tyzonn walked toward the Command Center he looked back, noting that he had never seen his friend so serious.

Mack stepped out onto the veranda. The android cleared his throat to alert Dax of his presence. Dax turned to see Mack walk up next to him. The actor could feel a lump in his throat form, and his knees shake. "Hey." He greeted weakly.

"What's going on with Rose?" Mack asked, looking Dax right in the eyes.

Dax swallowed hard. "Nothing."

Mack wasn't buying it. "Dax don't lie to me. Something is up. Rose has been acting weird and you know why."

"Honestly Mack I don't." The blue ranger said, praying that he sounded more convincing than he felt.

Mack looked him hard in the eyes. The blue ranger was sure the younger Hartford was going to hit him square in the face. Mack's expression softened, but not much. "Okay." He turned to descend the stairs that led to the never-ending backyard, but stopped halfway down. Dax leaned against the railing for support as he watched Mack carefully. "Are you and Rose . . . together?" Mack's voice wasn't nearly as intimidating as a minute ago, but never the less, Dax still had a difficult time answering the question.

There was a long pause before the blue ranger finally answered. "I don't know the answer to that either, Mack." He didn't know what to say. He wasn't really sure himself. _'If anything – if I have to lie again, at least I have a motive or something. I wish I could just tell them.'_ Dax sighed_. 'But I can't. I told her I wouldn't. I can't lose her trust . . . I just can't.'_

Mack starred at the blue ranger for a second or two then continued down the stairs and proceeded to walk through the landscaped back yard. _'Something doesn't feel right. Dax wouldn't lie to me, though. Not if it meant Rose's well-being. Maybe they are going out. It is possible, although Dax seems like the last person Rose would consider dating on the team. Not like there's anything wrong with Dax, he just doesn't seem her type. He just doesn't seem sophisticated enough. If that's it though then that means I lost my chance. Did I even have one? No, that was a stupid question. Androids don't have girlfriends . . . or wives. Still, something doesn't feel right. I know androids don't feel, but I just have this hunch something bad is going to happen.'_ Mack continued to walk further and further out to where their yard was intersected by a stream. He starred into the crystal, clear water. The red ranger continued to ponder the past days' events, the happenings between his teammates, raking his mind for clues to answer, or cure the bad feeling he had.

**At the Library**

When the two female rangers entered they immediately went to see the librarian at the front desk. "Excuse me." Rose said, trying to get the woman's attention.

"Yes, may I help you?" The woman replied.

"I'm here to pick up a book Mr. Hartford had requested be sent here for safe keeping." Rose informed the librarian.

"Ahhh, yes. I'll be right back." The cheery woman told Rose, vanishing behind a door adjacent from the desk. "Hey. I'm going to check out the magazine rack. Okay?" Ronny asked.

"Okay." Rose replied, glad to be left alone. The ride into town to library was an awkward one, and Rose was glad that the "mission" would soon be over and she could lock herself up in her room when she got back. A few minutes passed before the librarian returned with the book. Rose took it, examining it closely. It was old, very old. The cover was tattered and dirty, not to mention heavy, several pounds heavy. The title was in a different language, not doubt she would have to help decode. "Thank you." Rose said, with her best fake smile as she left to find Ronny.

Ronny seen Rose coming and met her at the front doors. "Hey is everything all right? You seem really out of it."

Rose starred at Ronny. "Umm, yeah, I'm fine." Ronny nodded, but was unconvinced.

"I have a question." Ronny said, as the two descend the library steps. "Are you and Dax going out? Because you really have been act'in weird lately." Ronny asked, truly concerned for her friend. "It's not a big deal if you are." She added. "You don't have to keep it a secret or anything. We don't care." Ronny rethought her last statement. _'Well Ty, Will, and I don't . . . Mack's another story all together.'_

They had just reached the last step, the bright sun blinding them. Rose and Ronny tried to shield their eyes with their hands. _'I knew Ronny had a reason for coming. It certainly wasn't to learn something.'_ Rose rolled her eyes, she could feel the anger boiling in her blood.

"I-" Rose began, but was interrupted by the appearance of chillers.

"Ugh. Can't we go anywhere, even a cruddy library without you guys appearing?" Ronny snapped. Rose gave Ronny a dirty look. "What? Books are your thing, not mine." The yellow ranger reasoned.

Rose dropped the book beside her. "Ready?"

"Ready!"

The two women morphed. As Ronny and Rose charged at their enemies, they neglected to see a chiller pick up the book and disappear. Ronny punched a chiller causing it to land on a car. She didn't waste anytime summoning her Drive Claws, smashing two chillers into each other.

Rose turned invisible sweeping one from under its feet and kicking another into one of its own. "Six down. A lot more to go." Ronny said before unearthing some tar and batting it at some chillers.

"Mr. Hartford, we need help. Chillers – library." Rose beckoned.

"The guys are on their way." Mr. Hartford answered. Rose shot three more chillers with her Drive Geyser. The yellow and pink ranger regrouped.

"The guys are on their way." Rose informed.

"It is me, or does it seem like there are more now than before?" Ronny quizzed.

"Yeah." Rose nodded in agreement. Before the two rangers could continue the chillers separated, forming two groups. All of a sudden, a blizzard blew in revealing a monster.

"Who – who – wh – what are you?" Ronny asked, pointing at the monster.

"I'm Aresious." The figure exclaimed. The monster looked like an armored white falcon, holding a staff with a pair of wings cradling a blue, ice gem on the top of the weapon.

"You rangers need to relax and chill out. Ice blizzard attack!" It screeched. Aresious pointed its staff at the yellow and pink ranger, releasing a fierce, blue stream of energy at the two. Just as the other rangers arrived Aresious and the chillers vanished. **(A/N: It's pronounced Air-e-us)**

"Hey!" Dax called trotting to a stop.

"Ronny!" Tyzonn cried out. The other rangers ran to where the Mercurian stood. They gazed in disbelief at the yellow ranger frozen in solid ice.

"What happened?" Tyzonn said pressing his hand against the ice, lining it up with Ronny's hand.

"I don't know." The black ranger said baffled by what he saw right before his eyes.

"Whoa." Dax said, tapping the ice containing their fellow ranger.

Will hit Dax in the arm. "Ow!" Dax yelped. "What was that for?" He countered, rubbing his arm.

"Quit it!" Mack barked, scanning the area.

"Guys." The rangers turned their attention toward their leader. "Where's Rose?"

End Chapter 5

**A/N**: Well, I hope you all liked it. Please leave a review.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Thanks to all who have reviewed. And thanks to _Mandi96_ for triggering the idea for the explanation of Rose's dreams. Thanks.

Chapter 6: Truth Bites

"Well?" Will inquired. He walked over to Ronny who was still frozen in ice. _'Don't worry Ronny, we'll get you out.'_

"Will for the thousandth time. . . ." Mr. Hartford said rather frustrated. "I'm working on it."

Mr. Hartford typed figures into the computer. "It's not like we can just let her sit in the sun and wait for the heat to melt the ice, it would be unsafe. And it would take way too long."

"And we can't chisel her out. Say we make a mistake. She's not Mercurian like me; she can't manipulate her being." Tyzonn stated out loud.

"Sir, there has to be a way." Spencer told his long time employer.

"Eureka!" The billionaire cried, after looking over some calculations the computer displayed. "If I can recalibrate the proto-type I used to build Rose's drive geyser . . . I may be able to melt the ice without doing any harm to Ronny. I analyzed her and the suit, and it seems the suit is insulating her; thus, keeping her warm and protected. I just have to make sure that I properly calculate this, as to not cause Ronny's body to go into shock, or . . . overcook her. I'll need your help Spencer to watch the suit's readings while I attempt to de-freeze Ronny." He finished, turning to the butler.

"Of course, sir. Anything I can do to help Ms. Veronica." The butler told him eagerly.

"Where's Mack and Dax?" Andrew asked Will and Tyzonn.

Both rangers shrugged their shoulders. Just then a loud thud could be heard coming from the main floor of the house.

"What was that?" Mr. Hartford asked, alarmed by the noise. All four men raced to see what the commotion was all about. When they reached the living room they saw Mack sitting on Dax, his hands gripping his collar, almost at the point of ripping it off.

"Liar!" The red ranger shouted. Mack punched Dax square in the mouth. The contact between Mack's fist and Dax's jaw could be heard clear and precise.

"Mack! Dax!" The older Hartford yelled. Will and Tyzonn went to pull them apart. The living room was turned upside down. The billiard table had been tossed on its side along with the end table, which once was situated in the middle of the room. The TV was busted, smoking from the broken screen and wires.

Mack was going to punch Dax in the face again, most likely with the intent to break his nose or jaw, but before the red ranger could, Dax was able to maneuver his legs to kick the red ranger off of him. The android crashed into the black and mercury ranger, knocking them down. Mack quickly got to his feet and lunged at the blue ranger, but the actor leapt high causing Mack to collide into the sofa, toppling over with it.

Will and Tyzonn grabbed their enraged comrade, using all their strength to hold him back as Dax watched on with horror, trying to gain his footing. Dax could hear his heart beat in his ears, throbbing rhythmically. He never thought Mack could get so angry. "Liar! Traitor!" Mack screamed, his vocals rasping at the end. Dax was panting heavily out of exhaustion, and also because of Mack's punches to his rib cage only a few minutes prior. Sure Dax had dealt a few kicks, but nothing as damaging as compared to Mack's.

"What's going on?" Andrew asked, confused, scared, and disappointed at his team. Spencer joined Andrew in getting in the middle of the blue and red ranger to prevent any further fighting amongst them.

"Tell'em . . . tell them Dax!" Mack demanded.

"What is it Dax?" Mr. Hartford asked, with a soft and kind tone. Mack shrugged off Tyzonn and Will's hold on him, but made no further attempt to attack Dax. Everyone's eyes were on their Asian comrade.

"Dax?" The Mercurian asked, truly curious. Mack continued to glare at Dax.

"I . . . I . . ." Dax tried. He wasn't sure why he couldn't say anything at that moment. He figured it could have been because he was scared beyond all reason, or because he had succumb to the fact that he was stuck between a rock and a hard place and had nowhere to go.

"He knew! He knew that something bad was gonna happen. That Rose was gonna get kidnapped, the book was gonna get stolen, and Ronny was going to be turned into a human popsicle!" The younger Hartford seethed. All heads turned toward Dax in disbelief.

"Is this true?" Andrew asked.

"No, no – I didn't know. Honestly! Rose said that she had a bad feeling, but that it was nothing." The blue ranger protested.

"What about the nightmares?!" The red ranger countered. Will saw Mack make a move forward and despite his anger and confusion, he jutted his arm out to stop him in his pursuit.

'_Nightmares.'_ Andrew's mind started to race with panic. _'Has it happened?'_ He thought, fear creeping up on the archeologist.

"Nightmares? What nightmares?" Will repeated.

"She made me promise." He pleaded. All the men replied only with cold stares. "If I told you and she found out, she wouldn't tell me anything." The actor tried to reason. "Then we'd know nothing!"

"You should have told us, Dax. Now Ronny is frozen, and Rose and the book are gone. We would have figured it out." Will said, anger weaved in his voice.

"Wouldn't you rather her be **here** and mad at you than wherever she is now!" Tyzonn argued.

"I . . ." Dax had nothing. He couldn't say anything that would change his friends' opinions of him now. It was too late, and the blue ranger had to accept that.

Mack looked over at his "father". "What is it?" He asked.

"Nothing Mack."

Mack wasn't convinced, but he had no choice other than to accept his answer as Mr. Hartford abruptly left without another word down to the lab.

As he descended down the stairs to the command center, his mind reeled with thoughts . . . none too pleasing, either. _'This is bad – real bad. How am I going to fix this? Mack is only going to hate me more if he finds out the fact that I had preempted knowledge of this happening. It's unfortunate that Dax is involved and yes, to some degree this is his fault, but not entirely. Nothing but a causality in another experiment of mine gone awry. I should have corrected it when I realized what happened – but I didn't. Rose would have understood – they all would have. No, I kept it a secret, I decided to neglect that fact, and now I am burdened with trying to fix it. I just hope I can do it without any of the team finding out . . . including Spencer.'_ He thought, scolding himself for his blunder.

End Chapter 6

**A/N:** Well, that was chapter 6. I was going to make it longer, but I felt it was okay to leave off here. It will give me time to think of what to write next. Let me know what you all think of the story so far, your reviews are very much appreciated.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** I know, long time, no updates. Truly sorry, but tada! Thanks to everyone who reviewed; thus, another chapter.

Chapter 7: Uncovering the Past

Rose groaned, heaving herself up. She surveyed her environment, trying desperately to desist the chattering of her teeth. "Whe-whe-where am I?" She looked around some more. _'Ice? . . . Flurious!'_ The child prodigy heard voices coming; she quickly lay back down feigning unconsciousness.

"Ahhh." Flurious sighed. "Don't you just love it when a plan goes perfectly?"

"Yes, my liege." Aresious replied. Both villains had their backs turned to Rose, who slowly and shakily straightened up into a fighting stance. When the Overdrive Pink Ranger felt she had enough strength to execute what she had planned, she charged at villain, who truly reflected his living environment – cold. Rose kicked Flurious square in the back causing him to stumble forward. She immediately started to battle with Aresious. The mensa genius rolled forward dodging an attack from Aresious' staff, quickly jumping up and kicking him down. Rose grabbed for her Overdrive Tracker, but no luck. A shock and horrified look washed over her face. _'Where is it?'_ She panicked.

"Did you honestly expect me to forget to take away your most vital tool? That stupid tracker!" Flurious spat. Rose whirled around, but wasn't fast enough to dodge his incoming strike. Doubling over in pain from his solid and powerful stab her at her stomach, Rose gasped for breath. The villain followed up with a strike to the head, knocking her out. The pink ranger lay helpless and wounded on the frozen, hard cave floor.

"Lock her up!" The King of Freeze ordered his subordinate.

"Yes, master." Aresious obeyed, picking up the unconscious pink ranger and slinging her over his shoulder. Regaining his composure, Flurious beckoned for Norg.

"Norg, you bumbling idiot, where are you?"

The yeti came rushing in. "Yes, Flurious?"

"Go fetch me that book."

"Okay, Flurious." The yeti skipped off with that.

"Now to catch up on some reading." He smirked, going to his throne to await the yeti's return with this prize possession – the book of King Solomon's Ring.

**Command Center**

Andrew heard the thunderous footsteps of the rangers and Spencer come thumping down. Mr. Hartford's mind kicked it into overdrive to try to multitask his priorities. _'Get Ronny unfrozen, maintain the peace between my team, try and figure Rose's and the book's location, and correct my mistake without any possible ramifications. Sounds reasonable.' _He thought, his cynicism getting the best of him.

Mr. Hartford was interrupted in his thoughts by the appearance of Mack, Will, Tyzonn, Spencer, and then Dax. The blue ranger licked his bottom lip, trying to see if it was still bleeding, but he found his attempt inconclusive.

"What is it **Mr. Hartford**?" Mack asked suspiciously. Spencer eyed his old friend carefully, up to this point Spencer had knowledge of everything that Andrew had done; the butler felt a twinge of fear and uneasiness in his chest, feeling he was left in the dark about something. Since Operation Overdrive was put into action, Spencer Spencer had grown attached to the youth that ran through the once quiet mansion, thinking of them more as his own with each passing day, so it pained him to think that one might be in danger because of his friend. The same weary, uncomfortable, awkward look Mr. Hartford adorned the day he told Mack he was an android, reappeared now.

"Sir?" Spencer spoke up.

Mack's faith and trust in his "father" was all but diminished._ 'He knows something and he's not telling us because he is the cause.' _Helooked the mentor of the team dead in the eyes, as if it would guide him to the secret the older Hartford had carefully stowed away.

"What is it, Mr. Hartford?" Tyzonn said, stepping forward. The older Hartford glanced at the computer then at Ronny before turning back to the gentlemen standing in front of him, who were impatiently waiting for him to explain his abrupt exit from upstairs.

"I have to tell you something. . ." He began.

**Flurious' Domain**

Rose struggled to open her eyes. The light emitting from the crack in Flurious' cave caused sharp pains to penetrate her skull right to her already tired, exhausted brain. Rose could feel a body adjusts its hold on her. When her vision finally came to, she gasped. "Lori!"

"Hey, you're up." She replied back sweetly. Lori pulled away slowly to let Rose sit up.

"What – how?" Rose couldn't believe her eyes. If someone had been passing by casually they would think the two young women were twins. With the exception of a few small differences in the face, they could definitely pull off being twins. Same height, build, and hair type, with Lori's being only a tad longer, they definitely could have been twins had it not been for the few years of age difference and the birth records to prove it.

"I couldn't actually tell ya. I was jogging like I do every morning, I was almost at my apartment when Frosty and a huge bird captured me."

Rose looked down.

"What is it?" Her sister asked, trying to look Rose in the eyes, but the pink ranger shifted her gaze each time.

"Nothing." She said. _'Damn . . . how low can they get?'_

"Rose your hiding something, what is it?"

"Flurious . . . his name is Flurious, and the bird is named Aresious, he works for Flurious. They kidnapped you to get to me – to get to Operation Overdrive – I'm so sorry, Lori."

Lori looked at her shocked, her face slowly changed into a disapproving scowl of sorts. She let out a small huff. "Of course. It's because you're a power ranger isn't?" The older Ortiz girl got up and took a few steps in the direction of the cell bars.

"Lori?" Rose inquired. Groaning at the pain getting up was causing her head she walked over to her.

"Lori . . ." Rose said meekly. It was like they were little kids again. Rose asking her sister forgiveness for something her sister considered "stupid", like letting slip that Lori did something she wasn't suppose to, which meant Lori was going to be grounded for an unknown amount of time.

"I knew being ranger was going to get you in trouble and inevitably me. Same old, worn-out story." Lori shook her head in a mix of disbelief and disapproval.

"Listen, I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say?" Rose begged.

"Rose! Mom, dad, me – we all told you not to do this, and now is the time you pick to be a rebel, even more of one than you were." Lori said disgusted, her arms folded.

"What are you talking about?" Rose said, raising her voice. "What rebel? You were always the one doing everything. The outgoing, charismatic, full of energy, always getting into trouble one." Rose returned, hurt by her sister's previous remark.

"Rose you always had to be different, as if being a genius wasn't enough. Mom and Dad were always tending to you. Putting money to this, paying for that, new school, new computer, lab equipment, parties for graduating from this early, developing that before anyone else did . . . Rose you got everything. You always had to be the smart kid no one could understand. Always the quite one, anti-social, cold, cynical, constantly thinking – always misunderstood. Usually it's the little sister that lives in the shadow of the older sister . . . but not in this family. This family had a 'little genius.'" Lori said, mimicking their mother's "slogan" for the Ortiz family.

Rose couldn't argue with the little genius part, her mother used that saying like it was an answer to almost any question Mrs. Ortiz was asked remotely concerning her family. Despite all the praise, and support, it wasn't until recently that Rose truly appreciated her gift of superior intelligence, no longer seeing it as a curse or oddity. The pink ranger was about to say something – what she didn't know, but it didn't matter because Lori wasn't finished. "Rose, you know what Mom and Dad did the whole time during **my** graduation from college?! They talked about how they hoped you were okay. How this and that about you. Even when you're not there . . . why did I think this didn't involve you?" Her sister trailed off, leaning against the cell bars.

Rose was about to apologize for everything like usual. She remembered apologizing to Lori for accidentally telling her parents when her sister broke house rules or did something wrong, or for being a "Nerd" in front of Lori and her friends, or making Lori look stupid in front of the family. _'No more'_. She thought, anger emanating from her. "Lori, it's not my fault I was given this gift. Or that mom and dad don't know how to divide their attention between their two children equally. I'm sorry that you got wrapped up in this, but being a power ranger is one of the best things that has happened to me. I learned that being smart is something to take pride in, and not be embarrassed about . . . to feel self conscious about, or hide. My intelligence is really helping the team – my friends. I help Mr. Hartford decipher clues to finding the jewels of the Corona Aurora, and as a result, keeping it out of the hands of others who want to destroy this planet." Rose said flustered.

Lori starred at her younger sister in amazement. The older sister couldn't believe her ears. _'Is this the same Rose Ortiz?' _She wondered, shocked by her little sister's outburst. Lori had never been spoken to like that – by Rose no less. After some minutes of deep consideration and allowing the shock to dissipate, Lori opened her mouth to speak. Rose waited for the sting of what her sister was about to say. "You're right. I guess you beat me at practically everything else, why not maturity? Right? You're right about it not being you're fault for mom and dad's lack of parenting skills, or for most of everything else I said. But I am holding you to the ranger part." She said sternly, but Rose cold see her lips curve up, she knew her sister was fighting back a smile, possibly laughter . . . and losing. Rose smiled and hugged Lori. After almost eighteen years of rivalry, Rose didn't care if it felt like a something you would see out of a Hallmark movie. For once, Lori and Rose truly shared a sisterly moment that didn't wind up with them sitting in separate corners of a room.

"Aww." Came a hoarse voice causing the two Ortiz girls to instantly separate.

"Flurious!" Rose spat, positioning herself in front of Lori to protect her, but her attempt failed. Flurious batted Rose away with his staff, too weak to stabilize herself, Rose fell down on the icey floor.

"Let me go you overgrown Pigeon!" Remarked Lori, trying to wriggle free from Aresious' grip.

"Let her go!" Rose demanded, making an effort to charge at the Falcon like monster, but she was halted in her tracks as she starred down Flurious' staff inches away from her face.

"How much does your sister mean to you?To save your sister you're gonna have to sacrifice." A chill ran down Rose's spine as Flurious smiled devilishly at her, but this chill was certainly not because she was in an ice cave._ 'My dream.'_

**Hartford Residence, Several Hundred Feet Underground**

"What is it?" Mack asked stepping closer.

"When I re-sequenced your DNA, it was a risk. I mean no else has ever done something like that before. It was experimental." Andrew took a deep breath. "All your IQ's are about the same, some a little higher than others, but nothing to – to cause a varying change in the program when altering your genes . . . except Rose. Rose is a genius; we all know that very well. I didn't go over the calculations again until I altered your . . . your program." The billionaire said to his "son".

"What are you saying DAD?" Worry rushed through all of them. Will looked over at Ronny, he'd wished Hartford would just spit it out, so he could proceed with unfreezing Ronny, it couldn't be good for her to be sustained like that.

"With such a high IQ, a person – Rose is constantly thinking, her mind is always running, both consciously and unconsciously. When I "adjusted" your genes, I didn't think about how the mind would be affected. Rose's higher level of thinking altered in the re-sequencer, and took on a whole new ability . . . abilities, actually." Andrew said, mumbling the last part.

"What do you mean?" Dax finally chimed in.

"Premonitions. Maybe more."

"Maybe more?" Will inquired.

"What are we exactly talking about?" Tyzonn said looking at the older gentleman suspiciously.

"Telekinesis . . .telepathy." Mr. Hartford replied in almost a whisper. "The thing is, that I noticed the signs a few weeks back. I was tentative to say anything at first, but it seems the affects aren't subsiding, but only getting worse. I asked her if anything was wrong, but she said no. I just – with everything going on . . . with battles getting harder, maybe, we could – or I could show her how to control her powers and we could have the upper hand, if and when the time came. And if it was a success, maybe I could manipulate the rest of your genes to add more genetic abilities, to help us. I'm sorry." Andrew had avoided all their gazes the entire time.

"You used Rose as a guinea pig?!" Mack yelled. Andrew noticed Mack start to tic; developing a tic was a clear sign that something was fried. Mack was never built to be a ranger, so it was no surprise that some of the sensors would give due to all the wear and tear. However, Mr. Hartford wasn't going to say anything at this very moment, not with tensions so high.

Spencer walked past the young, baffled men and stood right in front of the billionaire. He stared at him, despite the archaeologist's attempt to avoid his friend's glare. Not wanting to be the one to ask, but knowing no one else would, "What is going to happen, sir? What is going to happen to Miss Rose?" Spencer asked. _'How could he do this to Miss Rose?'_ And if Spencer weren't the gentleman he was, he probably would have hit Andrew.

Andrew let out a choked sob. "If we don't get to her soon, with the lack of sleep, and her mind basically working overtime, the new powers surfacing, and no time or ability to restrain them, insomnia, illusions . . ."

"What's going to happen Andrew?!" Spencer asked again. The men crowded around.

"She'll die." He said flatly, he took a deep breath before explaining. "I made some raw calculations, and give or take . . . Rose has maybe a max of forty-eight hours to live, before she can no longer bare it any longer, and she'll die. Her brain will shut down, along with all her other organs, vitals, everything. It will be a . . . most painful death." Andrew looked up finally, to see flushed faces. A deep, deafening silence grew and spread in the command center to the point of suffocation.

End Chapter 7

**A/N:** Well this chapter wasn't in my initial plan. However, I feel it gives more urgency to the story. Anyway, please leave a review. Feedback is most helpful. Thanks for taking the time to read my fic.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Well, everyone, we are nearing the finish line. Two chapters to go. Thanks to all who have hung in this far, and to those who have reviewed and kept my spirits up to continue. Thank you and enjoy!

Chapter 8: Mind Games

Rose stood outside the Hartford mansion apologizing to her friends about what she was going to do. _'But this is the only way. If I want to save Lori – I have no other choice . . . and I hope one day you'll all forgive me.'_ The pink ranger took a deep breath, preparing herself mentally for the surprised, disappointed, and hurt looks she was about to receive. _'Here goes nothing.'_ She sighed.

She took a step forward, about to slip into invisibility when she felt a searing pain pulsate in her head. Rose dropped down to her knees, tears freely falling. She clutched the sides of her head, hoping to make the pain stop. "Please stop." She pleaded.

The mensa genius toppled to the ground unconscious until an hour later when Spencer found her on his way to the market.

**Command Center**

Andrew Hartford had never worked at such a fast pace. The resequencer was just about completed when Will barged in. "It's ready. Everything is a go." He announced proudly and excitedly.

"Okay. Will you know what to do? This is a very delicate procedure. Once you start, you can't stop until she is entirely cleared of ice. Even then, it is essential that we escort her to the chair to make sure that her vitals are okay and she doesn't go into shock."

"I thought you said she would be fine." Will said, looking worried.

"I did, but I'm not willing to risk anything."

The black ranger powered up the laser that Mr. Hartford created using the prototype of Rose's Drive Geyser. Will waited anxiously as the ray collected energy to be used. When it had enough power, the spy carefully began defreezing Ronny. Will was more than happy to unfreeze Ronny, he knew if he did it, it would be done correctly. The black ranger also knew that one false move and anything that happened would be his fault.

Sweat ran down the ranger's face as he worked diligently on getting Ronny out.

Mr. Hartford watched intently as Will continued to maneuver the ray around the cube of ice encapsulating the yellow ranger. Andrew was also anxiously waiting for Rose to wake up so he could correct the error he made. He didn't want to do it without her awake, uncertain of the side effects if not totally conscious.

It was with that thought, Will, Andrew, Tyzonn, and Spencer, the latter of the two down there to oversee how things were going, heard a loud thud.

"What was that?" Tyzonn questioned. Will was too preoccupied to answer, biting his tongue in concentration.

"You don't think its Mack and Dax again? I haven't had time to repair him yet." Andrew let slip.

"What's wrong with Mack?" The Mercrurian implored.

"His circuitry is "loose", again." Andrew said, biting the inside of his cheek.

**Hartford Residence, Upstairs**

Tyzonn and Mr. Hartford left Spencer and Will to go see what the racket was, seeing as Will couldn't stop what he was doing.

The two men slowly crept out of the entrée way to the Command Center. Standing to full height, they scanned the area around them. Nothing. It was unsettling how quiet it was. As if on cue, Tyzonn and Mr. Hartford watched Dax and Mack going reeling past them, crashing right through the glass French doors.

Andrew and the mercury ranger put their hands up, cautiously making their way into the living room. They halted instantly when they saw Rose coming from the direction Mack and Dax had been thrown.

"Rose." Tyzonn gasped. The Mercurian took in the pink ranger's appearance, the veins in her head visibly throbbing, her eyes completely blood shot, a deep gash over her forehead, dried blood encrusted around it, she had probably reopened the wound, and over all, Rose looked beyond ruffled.

"I'm not sick!" She shouted. Tyzonn stared dumbfounded at her random statement, which wasn't random at all, seeing as Mr. Hartford had been thinking just that.

"Rose, please, we're trying to help." The billionaire said calmly.

"NO! You're just afraid, but don't worry. I can fix it. I can make this all go away. I finally figured it all out. I'll save the world. Just give me the ring." She said, with a sick, sadistic tone.

"Rose, listen. You just need to –"

"Relax." She finished for Tyzonn, with a childlike giggle.

"It seems it's worse than I thought. Its progression must have increased dramatically while she was out." Andrew whispered, why he didn't know, since Rose probably was reading his mind. The archeologist peered around the pink ranger to see his "son" and Dax lying on a pile of glass out on the veranda, unconscious.

"Rose." Andrew stated firmly, hoping that an affirmative tone would make her listen. Oh, how he was wrong.

"I wonder how Ronny is doing?" She asked with a twisted smile. "Just give me the ring, Andrew." She asked sweetly. "And Dax's Drive Vortex."

They just stared at her blankly. What would she need with the vortex, both questioned to themselves.

"You'll see." She answered. "You honestly think I need to be in the room to move . . . mess with things . . . like a desperate young man trying oh so hard to mercilessly save his friend. One false move and . . . well, you get the picture." She said smoothly, and with such malice, it surprised both men.

"Rose, Ronny's like your sister." Tyzonn said, with horror lined in his plea. Andrew stared at the young, disturbed woman that he in essence created, and saw nothing but pain, and anguish. The guilt he felt was beyond comprehension, and he knew what he had to do if he was going to save them, especially Ronny.

"Okay, the ring . . . and the vortex is your's. Tyzonn get them, will you?" The mercury ranger did a double take, but when his seen the look on the older gentleman's face, and the transmission from Will that the ray gun had "jammed" and if he didn't get it fixed soon, Ronny would pay, the alien took off in pursuit of the ring and the weapon.

Rose didn't wait for the Mercurian to hand over the items; she simply levitated them to herself. When the vortex and ring were securely with her, she gave a quick flick of her wrist propelling Tyzonn and Andrew in separate direction. Pleased with herself, she exited the mansion to return back to the ice layer. She giggled at what she had planned. "I can't wait to share with everyone my new invention. I'll save this pathetic, materialistic, imperfect planet myself." She mused, with a most devious grin.

**About an hour later, Command Center**

Dax groaned as Spencer applied yet another band aid over the numerous slits covering his face, arms, and hands.

"You okay, Dax? Mack?" Andrew asked.

"Yeah." The blue ranger groaned, again.

"I guess the symptoms are in full swing." Mack retorted. "How many hours until Rose . . . you know?"

"By my calculations, she's got max, twenty four hours. I suggest getting sleep. You're going to need it." The billionaire hinted.

"Yes, but her new abilities. She can read our minds – move objects. We'll never be able to get within ten feet of her without her knowing our next move." Tyzonn exclaimed.

"That's why I developed these." Mr. Hartford said, handing Mack, Dax, and Tyzonn one, placing Will's on the table for him to take later.

The black ranger was still defreezing Ronny, while also trying to listen.

"Glue guns?" The actor said hesitantly.

"No, Dax. They're injector guns. They contain a serum that will sedate Rose, once released into her system." The older Hartford explained.

"That still means we have to get close to her if this is to work." The mercury announced.

"Don't worry, I have a plan, but** Mr. Hartford** is right, we need to get some rest." Mack instructed the others.

Tyzonn and Dax bounded up the stairs to their rooms. The red ranger was about to leave as well, when Andrew spoke up. "Mack." He called, stopping the young man mid step. "Your circuitry needs to be repaired. It's affecting your emotions, judgments, decision making abilities."

"I'm fine. My abilities as a leader are intact. I don't need your help." He seethed, before bounding upstairs.

"But. . ."

"Hey, if I break, you can just rebuild me. Make a better model." And with those final words his "son" was gone.

Tension lingered down in Command Center, until Will cried out, "Ronny!" The yellow ranger demorphed instantaneously and collapsed into the spy's arms.

"Will?" She strained.

"I got ya." He told her, carrying over to the examination chair.

After running some quick tests, and Spencer giving the all clear, Andrew gave Will the signal that she was okay. "Her vitals are good, but so she doesn't go into further shock, I'm going to raise the temperature in her room to the equivalent of a 101 degrees, the same temperature the ray gun was at. Will nodded in comprehension. He picked up Ronny ever so gently and carried her upstairs. Spencer followed suit, while Andrew headed off to bed.

The butler brought several pitchers of water, and then covered Ronny under blankets upon blankets like instructed. Both men exited, while the yellow ranger got comfortable, her teeth chattering like they were having a race of their own.

About ten minutes later, Ronny heard her bedroom door creak open to reveal Will in a pair of black sweats and a black tank with a couple of pillows tucked under his arm. He closed the door quietly as to not disturb her, not knowing she wasn't sleeping anyway.

"Hey, what's up?" She asked in a small voice, smiling up warmly at him.

"You need your rest, go to sleep." He answered.

She watched him take the oversized chair in her room and push it closer to her bedside. He threw the pillows on top, and then proceeded to pull the footrest over as well. When all was arranged to his liking, he plopped in it. It was sweltering, almost suffocating, but they had to get her body temperature to stabilize.

Even as hot as it was, Ronny still shivered and her teeth still chattered. "What . . . why . . ." She mumbled.

"I just want to make sure you get better, okay? We're gonna need you." He said with sincerity. She smirked at his answer, knowing there was more to that 'we' than he was willing to admit. Ronny nodded and feeling better with him there, she fell asleep. Will watched her a minute or two more, before he too, let sleep take him.

**Ice Layer**

"Where the hell is she?" Flurious bellowed with Aresious and Lori in tow. The villain stopped short when he saw the petite ranger hunched over the vortex.

"Where's the ring?" Flurious spat.

Rose didn't answer. She rose to her feet slowly, sliding the vortex on. "What's that?" Flurious inquired, eyeing the ring that was now radiating on top of the vortex, connected by wires and a glass encasing.

The pink ranger only replied with a twisted smile. "You'll see." She whisked Lori away with a flick of her wrist, and threw Flurious through an ice wall, knocking the villain out for the count. Aresious went to make a hasty retreat, but seemed to be having problems.

"I can't move my body. What are you doing to me?" He roared.

"Can't have my guinea pig running away. Can I?" She teased, laughing at her own joke. She clenched the trigger and a beam of energy shot out, destroying the falcon like monster in seconds. Aresious didn't even have time to scream in pain, as he was turned into nothing but a pile of shaved ice.

Lori gasped. "Rose."

"Perfect." The mensa genius purred. "Let's go." She ordered.

Lori stood looking around at the destroyed wall leading to an unconscious villain, and the pile of shave ice ten feet away.

"I said let's go!" She hollered, annoyed at her sister's delayed reaction.

"Rose, you . . ."

"I not sick!" Her voice seemed to echo. "I don't need help. Yes, I know you didn't say anything. I'll give you something to be jealous about. You think I'm smart now; well here's something new . . . I can read minds and move objects. So don't piss me off." She warned.

"Rose, I think the other –"

"No! I can do it myself. I know what I'm doing. I don't need any help. I don't need their help. And I for damn sure don't need your's! I'm the genius, I'm never wrong!" Now enraged about the stalling, Rose gathered the icy remains of Flurious' monster and molded them into cuffs with her mind. In too much of a state of horror and shock, Lori couldn't do anything but watch as her little sister melded the ice to fit around her wrist, forcible moving her sister with her "new abilities".

"Come. I have things to do, like save the world." She giggled, skipping like a five year old. "You want the rangers so bad, I'll bring them. It'll be fun. Oh, so fun." She said with a sickeningly happy tone.

End Chapter 8

**A/N**: You know the drill. Leave a review. Thanks for reading.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Well folks, this is it, the second to last chapter of Rose Gone Rogue. Enjoy!

Chapter 9: Battle of the Minds

**Three in the morning, Hartford Mansion**

It was a sound that had become all too familiar to the teens. It was the sound of danger. The sirens wailed for someone to stop whatever it was disturbing San Angeles. The rangers scurried down to the Command Center where they were met by Andrew and Spencer. All were in their bedtime attire of choice, none ready for battle as they gathered to see what was wrong. Despite Will's protest, Ronny came as well. She tried hard to control the shivers and shakes, but some still slipped by, and were caught by the observant eye of the black ranger.

"What's going on?" Ronny asked, still out of the loop.

"Ah, I forgot Ronny, you don't know." Mr. Hartford said, clearly distraught. "Rose's genetic abilities have spurred out of her control, and she is in danger of hurting herself and others."

"She has the ring and my Drive Vortex." Dax interjected, clearly upset himself.

"We need to get her back as soon as possible if we are to save her." Mack added flatly.

"How bad is it?" The yellow ranger questioned, still feeling like she was missing something important.

"Bad." Will answered curtly. Ronny eyed Will carefully. She wasn't usually able to read him, his well-polished spy skills not leaving much room for error. But this morning – this very early morning was different. Only in his eyes, could Ronny read the uneasiness, sadness, and horror that her teammate felt. The racecar driver swallowed hard, knowing that this was a **'worst case scenario' **situation.

"What's causing the alarms?" Tyzonn asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Rose is in the park . . . but not alone." The billionaire informed, looking at the monitor.

"Who's with her, Mr. Hartford?" Dax asked. "Flurious?"

"No, I don't think so. I'm not picking up his energy reading." He paused, typing in a few things, he squinted his eyes like it would help decipher who the other entity was. "It looks civilian."

"Like a hostage?" The Mercurian asked, hoping he was wrong.

"I'm not certain, but it's not worth sitting around here and waiting to figure it out. Spencer, you key in the location on their trackers?" Andrew asked.

"Yes, sir. They are all ready to go." The butler replied in a calm voice. But Spencer Spencer was far from calm. This was the last leg of the race. It was all or nothing.

**Park**

Rose keyed in a few codes into the Drive Vortex she extracted earlier as Lori stood watching on. The older Ortiz girl didn't know what to do. She knew she wanted to flee like a bat out of hell, but she also wanted to stay. She wanted desperately to somehow help Rose. "Rose." She called to her little sister in her sweetest, friendliest voice possible. "I think – "

"You think too much Lori. Isn't your brain getting a cramp from being used so much?" She quipped, laughing at her own insult. Rose turned to her older sister; flashing that same sadistic smile she gave Flurious before throwing him through a cave wall. The pink ranger launched her sister a good hundred feet into an old, dying willow tree.

Lori hit the base of the willow with a crunch. She groaned in pain, as she watched Rose cage her like an animal by bending the branches of the tree down around her and pegging them in the ground. "Now you won't have to think Lori. You can just watch." The mensa genius hissed.

**Ice Layer**

Flurious stood shakily, gaining his bearings. The icy villain surveyed the damage done. "Aresious!" Hollered Flurious. The scuttle of feet heard was far from Aresious'. "Norg! Where is Aresious?" He demanded from the yeti.

"The – the – the pink ranger blew him up. Zap!" The cuddly fur ball exclaimed, with wild hand gestures.

Flurious just growled his response. "She's not gonna get away with this." He stated under his breath. Stomping past Norg.

**Park**

Being so early in the morning the sun hadn't rose, leaving it rather chilly. Rose stood there preparing to execute her plan when she heard her name. And it wasn't Lori beckoning her.

"Rose! Stop!" Mack called. The rangers skidded to a halt. They had decided as a team to not come morphed. They were hoping to maybe talk her down, talk reason to their friend. However, Tyzonn immediately began looking for the civilian presence that had been picked up by Mr. Hartford. Hoping Rose wouldn't notice.

"Rose." Ronny gasped, putting her hands over her mouth. She gazed at her friend, couple of tears rolling down her cheek. The others had better informed Ronny of the situation, including Rose's new "gifts". Still, their detailed retelling couldn't prepare the yellow ranger for the sight before her.

The pink ranger had a permanent maniacal grin plastered on her face. Her eyes were completely red and the veins so prominent, a person couldn't help but stare. Her clothes were torn, stained, and ruffled. She looked . . . horrible.

"Save'em." Rose spat in Ronny's general direction. "You're gonna need them for yourself."

Tyzonn had been mercilessly scanning the area over, but nothing. The only thing that disturbed him was the tree. He had never seen a tree like that on earth. He nudged Will, and pointed by the tree.

Will tapped into his genetic powers, and saw a young woman there. "Rose?" He questioned, in a quiet voice.

"Say hi to Lori, everyone." Rose said, with a smirk. "You're all just in time to witness the end of all this nonsense." She paused. "Told you Lori, they would come." She yelled over the wind that had strangely picked up. It had to be going close to fifty miles per hour. So strong that debris, fallen leaves, trash, and trashcans whirled by.

That's when Mack saw it, the glow from the Drive Vortex. The ring. It was causing the sudden weather change, and would mostly cause the destruction. Dax had been eyeing his vortex the entire time, as well.

"My plan, Dax." She began, before he could ask aloud. "I'm simply going to cut off this planet from everything. I'm going to decimate this hopeless planet of everything. The ones that make it, they'll be fighting so hard to survive that fighting in the world will end." She giggled.

"That's not true. If anything, you're going to kill many, and turn whoever is left into animals." The android countered.

"If they aren't blessed with higher thinking than that's their own fault." She sneered. She looked at the determined faces of the rangers, especially Mack's. "Please you aren't going to stop me." She laughed.

Mack gave the nod to morph, and as soon as they had donned their suits Flurious and his army of chillers appeared. Rose took this distraction as a chance to strike first propelling each ranger in separate directions.

She giggled as they scrambled to their feet. She punched in a few things into the Drive Vortex and gazed at it dreamily. "As soon as it's fully charge – it's going to be perfect." She smiled.

Seeking revenge, Ronny raced over to Flurious with Will not too far behind. Tyzonn went to help release Lori, followed by some chillers. Mack and Dax, still unsure of each other, went to stop Rose.

"Com'mere Frosty." Ronny growled between clenched teeth.

"Ronny!" Will called, concerned for her well-being. He knew that she wasn't well enough to fight yet. Ronny summoned her Drive Claws hacking away at the chillers.

Tyzonn had successfully made it to Lori. "Hi, I'm Tyzonn." He greeted like all hell weren't breaking loose.

"Watch out!" The older Ortiz girl cried, pointing behind the Mercurian. A hoard of chillers raced at the mercury ranger ready to fight.

"Uh-oh." Tyzonn muttered.

Mack watched as Dax ran straight for Rose when he was hit with an invisible force and went reeling back. "Well that didn't work." He noted. The red ranger looked around, watching each of his friends duke it out with chillers, Flurious, or Rose. He had to end this . . . somehow. He wanted to end this with everyone making it out safely. That idea seemed to becoming more of a dream by the minute, though.

**Half hour later**

The fight had been going on for a while. Tyzonn had taken care of the last chiller with his Drive Sniper. He turned to Lori who looked to be crying. His adrenaline running, he demorphed and used his mercurian "gifts" to cut through the branches with one swift movement. That's when he noticed it, the ice cuffs that covered her hands and wrists.

"Help." She pleaded, tears strolling down her face.

"Hold still." The Mercurian told her, he took a deep breath and with a quick flick of his hand, using his mercurian "gifts" once more, the ice shattered. Lori looked at her hands; they were purple, and numb. She hugged Tyzonn absorbing his warmth, her teeth chattering.

"Don't worry, will save her." He comforted, taking his jacket off and wrapping her hands in it.

Lori reminded the mercury ranger of Ronny as she shivered, her lips blue.

"Ha!" Ronny yelled, clawing the last chiller in her way. The black ranger watched her take off for the King of Freeze, a group of chillers blind-siding him. Will called for his Drive Hammer. With no time to waste he batted the first chiller he reached, hitting it right into another. Quickly moving on, he jumped high slamming it to the ground, destroying another three.

"Two more." He grumbled. He heard her grunt with frustration as Flurious struck her hard to the stomach. Will kicked one in the chest, launching himself off of the chiller to strike the other. After destroying the last chiller he raced toward where Ronny was fighting Flurious.

Mack crept up on Rose. _'I was right. Being a robot finally paid off. I don't have a human brain; thus, no normal thoughts to read. Everything I think is due to programming . . . sadly.' _

Rose heard something behind her and whirled around in enough time to stop Mack. Glaring at him with malicious intent, she concentrated her powers on him.

The red ranger watched her carefully. "Rose." He said leery of what she was doing. Then he "felt" a rip, he also heard it. Tearing out his innards. "Rose." He strained, as her smile grew at his pain. _'Why did dad have to put in pain receptors?'_ She was tearing him apart wire-by-wire, gear-by-gear.

Dax ran at her, causing her to stop pulling apart the android. Mack fell like a ton of bricks.

**Later, about an hour from the initial confrontation**

The rangers were growing weary. Flurious had sent more chillers after Tyzonn, who easily defeated them, but as the winds picked up even more, he couldn't leave Lori. The weather was only getting colder, and she was already starting to suffer from hypothermia, he needed to keep by her, preventing her from getting worse.

Ronny and Will weren't having better luck. While in the beginning they had the upper hand that was no longer the case. Ronny was thrown like a rag doll into Will.

"What happened yellow ranger? Run out of steam." Flurious mocked.

Ronny gasped for breath. Her energy depleted. Flurious looked over where Dax and Mack were battling with Rose, turning to head in that direction.

Will charged at the villain to only be caught by the throat and thrown back to the yellow ranger. The black ranger landed with a thud, looking over at Ronny ten feet away.

"Your mine pink ranger." Flurious seethed. Will army crawled over to Ronny who swayed in pain, her muscles aching.

Rose turned to Mack, ready to finish off the red ranger. Seeing this Dax channeled his thoughts on Rose. _'Rose!'_ He screamed.

This instantly got the pink ranger's attention. _'Rose, I know you're in there. Trapped. This isn't you. Think of Lori, think of us, more importantly, think of yourself. I'm sorry.'_

'_What are you talking about? I can do this! I know what I'm doing. Stay out of it! And stay out of my head!' _She countered back mentally.

'_Rose, no you can't. If you could, you wouldn't have told me. I was stupid not to tell anyone else. But if you truly thought you could do this by yourself, you wouldn't have told me. Somewhere deep down, you wanted help, stop thinking you have to be perfect. You're human. Stop trying to be the robots you build. Mack's an android and he even makes mistakes, they're called errors . . . I think. It's okay to need help, remember what we use to have to tell Will. You don't have to go solo.'_ The blue ranger fought back.

'_Stop! Stop! Get out of my head! I'm not listening! It's not true.'_ Rose was clutching her head, tears falling, a trickle of blood coming from her nose.

'_Rose you know I'm right.'_ Dax reiterated.

'_STOP!'_ Rose "screamed".

Mack had taken this opportunity to sneak up on Rose. When he was in reach, he wrapped himself around her from behind. Rose snapped out of it immediately, leaving Dax to fall to his knees.

The petite ranger struggled, but Mack held tight grasping the ring. He could feel his muscles, or wires being pulled apart. He was loosing his ability to move.

With the last bit of his strength the red ranger ripped the ring out of the vortex. _'World is safe.'_ He noted, moving quickly on to his next objective. The wind instantly started to die down; next, Mack injected Rose with the serum. Both rangers collapsed, the pink ranger lying on the red ranger unconscious. Mack couldn't move, hell he didn't even know if his arms and legs were still attached. The two lay there to be preyed on, like rodents to a hawk.

Flurious cackled at the sight. He raised his staff to strike, but did not hit Mack or Rose. Sparks flew in all directions as the Defender Shield fell to the ground charred. Mack watched Dax fall to his knees, a pool of blood greeting the grass the fallen ranger was now lying on.

"Dax." Mack strained before he finally short-circuited, and everything when black.

"Four down, two to go." The villain seethed looking over at Tyzonn, who was cradling an unconscious Lori.

Flurious attempted one more time. He struck once more, when a loud clang rang through the park. Andrew gritted his teeth, gripping the Sentinel Sword with all his might.

Flurious stepped back, shocked. "Are you kidding Hartford?"

"No. I won't let you destroy my team without a fight." Andrew shot back, determined to defend the five youths scattered about the park.

Flurious eyed the older man for a minute, before relenting. "I **will **destroy these rangers." He growled, eyeing the red ranger especially. With that he was gone.

"Spencer. Are you ready? We need to move." Their mentor said on his cell, while looking around at the dismal scene about him.

End Chapter 9

**A/N:** Thanks for reading. I'm a little unsure about this chapter. It seems a little rushed, I don't know. Feedback would be much appreciated. Please leave a review.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Thank you, everyone, I had a blast writing this, and I'm happy to see all the reviews and hits I got. Without further adieu . . . the final chapter of Rose Gone Rogue

Chapter 10: Test of Faith

It had been a week since the battle against Rose and Flurious. Andrew had managed to keep the incident from the press with the help of an old friend. Mack stepped up to the receptionist and asked for the guess pass, flashing a polite smile at the young brunette manning the desk. She handed him the purple, laminated pass. The red ranger nodded and took it heading down the bleached, white walls.

**A week prior**

Flurious had just left, but not for the last time. The ring was nothing but a puddle of gold, completely useless; thus, no longer a threat to mankind. Andrew Hartford looked up from where he sat hunched over Rose, watching as the Silver Guardian SUVs pulled up. The doors swung open with such force and urgency they shook violently. Two men in red berets waltzed up to Mr. Hartford like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. The older man slowly stood, eyeing the two men wearily.

"Mr. Andrew Hartford?" Asked a tall, dark haired man with defined features. "I'm Eric Meyers, my partner Wes Collins." He introduced another tall man with brown hair and a determined look.

"Yes."

"We got it from here. You have nothing to worry about." He declared then turned on his heel, and started barking commands to other silver guardians.

"My father says his hellos. And don't worry Mr. Hartford we will make sure none of this is leaked to the press, and more importantly, that the rangers are sought to immediately and taken care of. From one ranger to another." He smiled, putting a reassuring hand on the billionaire's shoulder. "We had our men take your resequencer to the hospital." He finished and abruptly left to start overseeing that everything was handled properly.

It wasn't how Andrew had planned it to end, but what was important was that his rangers would be all okay, right?

**Present time**

The heir to the Hartford wealth stopped and absently turned the corner, staring straight ahead. It had become habit, nothing that would cause him to actually think about it.

He stopped and stood in the doorway. The room was bare, the bed made, just waiting for its next patient. Dax was gone and Mack was relieved, too.

The blue ranger had been released from the hospital yesterday. He wasn't completely healed, but well enough to be allowed to come home . . . back to the mansion.

Mack took a deep breath and began to walk down the blindingly, white halls again. Nurses darted in and out so suddenly it startled the android each time.

It was amazing how fast and slow this week had gone by. Time stood still when he would enter the hospital. It was suffocating.

Tyzonn, much to the archeologist's relief was unharmed, as was Will. Ronny, Lori, Dax, and Rose were rushed to the hospital, and saw to by doctors hired by the Silver Guardians. They were "specialists".

Ronny was in constant company of Will, and was released two days later. While Lori was kept busy playing puzzles and games with Tyzonn 'til she was released the following day. The older Ortiz girl accepted Mr. Hartford's offer to stay at the mansion for as long as she wanted.

Dax had been in intensive care for about three days before being moved to another room. He was in a lot of discomfort when he finally came to. He had what doctors summed up as a seizure, most likely a result of fighting with Rose mentally, and a deep laceration across his chest that ran from the tip of his left shoulder to the tip of his right hip. It would probably never completely heal, leaving a scar as painful reminder.

Oddly, or strangely, Mack observed what appeared to be a blossoming, or potential relationship between Lori and Dax, leaving Mack feel carefree and happy. Why, he didn't quite know, but it made him feel at ease to know Dax and Rose weren't dating, just really good friends.

Rose, she – she was still in ICU (Intensive Care Unit). Doctors told his "dad" she wouldn't be move out of ICU until she was conscious again. Even so, the doctor said that her IQ and brain function wouldn't be where it was prior to the incident. It would take a while 'til Rose was Rose again. She wouldn't be a vegetable, but her IQ wouldn't be at the incredibly high level it was. It would settle at healthy standard level until her brain started to heal itself, and of course with daily challenging, she would eventually be herself again. It hurt the red ranger to hear that, but he just took it with a grain of salt.

Things at the manor hadn't been the same. It was unsettlingly quiet, and none of them spent time together . . . it didn't feel right. The blue ranger was still having trouble getting around, even with Lori helping him, Ty was listless to say the least, and Will was ever so protective when it came to the outgoing yellow ranger, who was nothing but mellow as she waited for her bestfriend to come out of the coma she resided in at the moment.

Mack visited the pink ranger on a daily basis, from morning to night. He even stayed and slept there a couple of times. All the rangers visited, but Mack practically lived there, telling them that it was his duty to oversee everything. Not like he was believed, but the others just placated the red ranger.

Mr. Hartford had rebuilt his "son" within thirty-six hours. Better than new, he called it.

Mack pushed through the heavy double doors, casting a warm smile at the nurses manning their station. "Good morning, Mr. Hartford." Chirped one.

The overdrive ranger nodded, turning to go in **her** room. He was startled to see the doctor there, scribbling things onto a clipboard.

"Oh, hey Mack. How are you?" He greeted in a monotone, gruff voice.

"Good. How's Rose?"

"Well, not any worse . . ."

"But not any better." The young man filled in. The doctor gave a rough nod and left.

She had been in a coma since they fought. Her DNA back to "normal". She was so – so peaceful, and beautiful when sleeping.

Mack slid the chair over. Nothing had changed, the wound on her forehead was healing nicely that it no longer needed the bandage, but nothing else changed.

He watched her chest rise and drop in sync with the beeping of the heart monitor. She had IV needles in her arm, and oxygen tubes in her nose; she looked almost inhuman. He took her hand in his and squeezed gently, praying she would return the gesture. But she didn't. She was . . .lifeless . . . brain dead. Mack knew it, but blindly hoped that she would just snap out of it. The Hartford heir felt a cool trickle of water run down his cheek, ridden with guilt and angry at the world, he rested his head in his free hand, leaning on the bed railing. It was about the time he would start cursing the world for being cruel, swearing up and down that he would have his revenge on Flurious.

It hurt so much, how could he hurt so unforgivably bad if he wasn't real?

Mack heard foot steps down the hall, but refused to look away from Rose's motionless body.

"Hey, how's she doing?" Ronny whispered, like it was a secret. As if said too loud would shatter the petit ranger lying there. She didn't want an answer; she didn't need one, but felt like it needed to be asked anyway.

The others filed in, all gazing at their friend.

Before Mack could answer, the doctor came in. He cleared his throat getting everyone's attention. "I'm glad you'll here. I need to discuss something rather important. Miss Ortiz isn't getting any better – she's not any worse, but after extensive testing, I'm sad to say, but Rose . . ."

The android's eyes grew as he watched the doctor's mouth move up and down in slow motion. "Rose is brain dead." Each ranger just gaped at the man in the pressed white coat. Each one shutting down themselves. It couldn't be so. "I need to know if you want to continue to support her via life support or to cut the tie."

It was as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. The only answer the doctor received was the chiming of the heart monitor.

**Several Days Later**

The younger Hartford man watched Dax comfort his "friend" out of the hospital. Lori looked absolutely horrible, the actor's arms wrapped tightly around her. It had been decided . . . Rose was to be cut off of Life support tomorrow at three. Lori said it wouldn't be right to make Rose continue on. She was nothing but a shell. It was wrong. The last part rang in the overdrive commanding leader's ears. _'It was wrong, she says. That ain't all. Everything is wrong.' _Mack decided to stay behind and be with her. No one objected to him staying, either.

He took his seat next to her and just sat numb to the core. The worst had happened.

The red ranger thought about how he failed, how he had failed Rose, his team, that he was the worse ranger in ranger history, and should have never accepted his father's offer to be the team leader.

His body yearned to sleep, but with the ill knowledge that for every minute that passed it would be a minute less Rose wouldn't be around, he couldn't. He watched the wall clock tic tock, like a race to the count down of when everything they worked to build came tumbling down in front of them.

Finally, around half past midnight Mack rested his head on the edge of her bed, his hand still in hers, and let sleep carry him away.

**9 a.m. the next morning**

He woke with a start and looked around, but was disappointed to see that his dream had not come true . . . Rose was still in a coma.

The young Hartford leaned back in his chair. "Why?" He asked, closing his eyes.

He sat there for four and half more hours. He blinked, and all his friends were in the room, spread around her bed paying their last respects. Will patted Mack's shoulder to join him to get some coffee in the cafeteria. He accepted. While the two men walked around, Will made small talk in all efforts to take the evident pain his friend was experiencing away, but failed miserably.

Mack returned not long after, looking more and more like a zombie. The others shuffled out to allow their leader one last time to talk to **her**.

"Hey, Rose. I'm – I'm so sorry." He sobbed. He looked at her indifferent face, and let the water works fall freely. He could hear the doctor talking to his father out in the hall. "Damn it!!" He shouted. When he got no response. "Please Rose, for me!" Again, no response. He jumped to his feet, out of breath and energy, and stared at her once more, then he turned to door to leave. Mack was sure everyone heard him, but didn't care.

The red ranger's hand gripped the door handle. "Mack? Why are you yelling?" Came the softest, weakest, and most vulnerable voice.

The red ranger whirled around almost tripping over his feet and raced over to her bed. "Rose you're awake!!" He cried.

Ronny, Will, Ty, Spencer, Dax, Mr. Hartford, and Lori all piled in, surrounding the groggy ranger.

The pink ranger's eyes were barely open, but she was able to say what she wanted. "Sorry . . . everyone." She groaned. Rose winced as her friends started celebrating, her head pounding with every scream. She felt like some one was banging drums in her head, not to mention how the absolute nausea she felt.

Everyone started screaming and shouting, accepting the apology, but more than anything hugging the awake, dazed pink ranger. Crying, and screams of pure happiness echoed in the hospital. No nurse or doctor stopped them, not like they could.

The red ranger watched the spectacle, tears still streaming, the doctor shuffling in and trying to control the group so he could properly check Rose out. Mack smiled down at the pink ranger, who was taking it all in, their eyes locking for a minute, she quickly returned the smile then was pulled into an overly exuberant hug by Ronny.

Mack let out a well needed sigh of relief, he knew.

He knew everything would be okay.

End Rose Gone Rogue

**A/N:** Thank you all, again. Don't forget to check out the epilogue and please leave a review.


	11. Epilogue

**A/N**: Sorry, I couldn't leave it at that. I decided at the last moment to write an epilogue.

Epilogue: One Year Later

"Okay, last one. What is the square root of 3,079,473,049?" The blonde asked taking another bite of her big sugar cookie.

"55,493." Answered the other woman sitting across from her. The petite woman waited anxiously to be told whether she was right. She took a fork full of her slice of cheesecake before washing it down with her latte. They were sitting by the window of a small café, able to see everything outside, especially the beach. It was nice and sunny day, a perfect time to take a nice walk along the water's edge. "Well?"

The blonde finished swallowing the bite of cookie she had just taken and looked up at her best friend. "Well what?" She questioned, sipping her smoothie.

"Did I get it right?"

"How do I know?" She answered brutally honest, shrugging her shoulders.

"Ronny." The brunette groaned, irritated with the dead end answer.

"I guess it's right, Rose." The racecar driver assumed. She plugged the numbers into her cell's calculator and bingo. "The calculator in my cell doesn't even do math that high. Don't worry, you're probably right."

"Whose right?" Asked the former leader of the Overdrive team.

"Rose. She got every question right. She is now, and shall forever be . . . her boring, lack of sense of humor, beyond brainy self." Ronny announced. Will and Mack laughed, as Rose threw the retired yellow ranger an unconvincing glare.

"I still think you're the best." Mack cooed, leaning in to kiss Rose.

"Come on man, I just ate." Will groaned, throwing his arm around Ronny. "Anyway. I heard you moved in with bolts for brains." He jested. While Mack was fully human, the former black ranger still found clever ways to tease his best friend.

"Yeah. Well after Dax moved in with Lori and I – you think Mack and I are bad, after three months I **had** to get out." She said with a roll of her eyes. "Plus I missed the beach, the warm weather, and . . . I think there's one other thing . . . oh! And my boyfriend." She teased. Mack mocked a sad face only for Rose to reciprocate with a playful hit.

"You're dad was cool with it?" Ronny chirped up.

"Well, actually Spencer okayed it, so it was a wonderful surprise when him and I got back from our expedition, but he didn't care."

"How are Dax and Ty, anyway?" Will interjected before Ronny could further probe.

"Dax is doing well. Apparently a change in scenery is doing the trick, he's a big success over there, and Ty, well he and Vella are doing well." The seasoned ranger began, quickly cut off by his girlfriend.

"Vella is expecting." The mensa genius squealed causing Ronny to squeal in joy as well.

"We'll have to plan a baby shower. I wonder if they have baby showers on Mercuria. Oh well, they'll be the first." Ronny giggled.

The black ranger slowly massaged the corners of his eyes. "So how are you two doing?" Mack inquired, the two women still enthralled in the latest baby news.

"We're good. But with her traveling from one race to another, and my constant chasing of artifacts with my team, it can get tough. But all in all it ain't bad. She's not ready to settle down in one spot yet, and I can respect that because neither am I." He smiled. "Oh, Rose." The petite ranger looked over in his direction, now giving him her undivided attention. "I found this ancient map on one of my artifact retrieval ventures and I thought you and I. . ."

"No!" Both Mack and Ronny yelled simultaneously.

"No working." Ronny scolded.

Rose was about to protest; intrigued by the yellow-aged paper with ancient writings decorating it, but was halted quickly. "Rose, you're suppose to be taking it easy." Mack reminded her, even though the former pink ranger had enough of "taking it easy". A year was way beyond enough time to recover, or so she thought.

Rose opened her mouth to object, but was cut off by Ronny. "No! Geez, you bunch of work-a -holics. No working."

"Come on, let's take a nice walk on the beach." Mack suggested getting up.

Ronny jumped at the idea as Will and Rose begrudgingly accepted. They weren't going to be able to look at the map together without being yelled at so they might as well go for a walk.

The quartet's leisurely walk on the beach soon turned into a splashing war in the ocean.

Their laughter carrying with the waves.

End Rose Gone Rogue

**A/N:** And that is the true conclusion to Rose Gone Rogue. Please leave a review. Thank you everyone for reading.


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